Middle School Principal Update

Thursday, November 10, 2022

Color Run

Abby Kelley Middle School Families,

With your support we have raised $10,000 for our Middle School Activities Fund through our Color Run! Your generosity and willingness to support our school community is truly appreciated!

To the parents who made today possible by being out on the field for all our classes today, thank you! Our students had a great time, they got fresh air, they got to run around and they got colorful! Please check out the Abby Kelley Social Media pages for pictures! (Facebook, Instagram)

We will work with our team leaders to figure out our next steps with these funds for the benefit of our students, thank you again!

Congratulations to all students and staff for their participation in the Color Run. Congrats to winning grade level: Grade 5

All members of the 5th grade class have earned an ICE CREAM SUNDAE MONDAY on Monday, November 14th. (substitutions available for those students who are sensitive to dairy products)

Mr. Wong-Kam and Ms. Connors' classrooms came in 1st and 2nd place in the fundraising challenge and will receive a Dress Down Day on Monday, November 14th. Congratulations again!!!

Lost & Founds (Items will be donated after 3pm today)

Are you looking for your students AKFCS sweater, new coat , lunch bag, etc? We may have it in the lost & found bin in the main office. Please write your students name on the tags of clothing or the outside of bags and water bottles. On Friday, November 10th, all Lost & Found items will be donated.

Student Health Screenings* - Beginning in November at AKFCS Middle School

4th grade- BMI and vision screenings

5th grade- Vision and postural screenings

6th grade- Postural screenings

7th grade- BMI and postural screenings

Dollar Scholar & iCivics - Thursday, November 10th (today)

Dollar $cholar Event for 6th & 7th Grade Girls

Abby Kelley Middle School students will be participating in the Dollar $cholar Program on Thursday, November 10th.

Dollar $cholar is a program of the Women’s Initiative of the United Way of Central Massachusetts, a member-run, volunteer-based women’s group whose mission is to ignite positive change for girls through philanthropy and women’s leadership. The program is geared for the middle-school girl, providing basic financial literacy skills and valuable knowledge to support their college, career, and life plans.

Our 6th & 7th Grade girls will be spending part of their day at Clark University for this special program.

iCivics

6th & 7th Grade Boys will be engaging in a program called iCivics. Students will be active participants in an election simulation. Students will be expected to participate in the local politics of an imaginary city called Isley. Students will learn about the local political process such as the significance of researching candidates, staying informed of local issues, and learning about the democratic process.

6th and 7th grade boys will take part in the iCivics program at the middle school.

Veterans Day - School Closed, Friday, November 11th

Student Pictures- November 17th

Grin & Barrett Photography will be at the middle school on Thursday, November 17th. Uniforms will be required for school pictures!

Student Picture order forms provided to students on November 4th

Student Leadership Committee - Food Drive on November 18th

The Leadership Committee has organized a food drive to help support Abby's House. This is an organization that supports the greater Worcester community and provides shelter for those in need. The food drive will be November 18th. Please bring in an item from their food pantry list below and you may dress down for a dollar.

The class from each grade that brings in the most number of items, will win an ice-cream party!

Food Pantry List: https://abbyshouse.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/Food-Pantry-Needed-Items-7.20.22-FINAL.pdf

Flier: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1xsjI5i-9Ni74gUZ6zOkGPuqgTgFYYDZZxaXhE2m0yC4/edit

Any student who brings in a food item for donation as well as $1 will be allowed to participate in a dress down day on Friday, November 18th. All donations and $ will be collected in homeroom classes.

Family Conferences November 21st and 22nd

Conferences will be held on Early Release Days. Information regarding family sign-up / conference registration will be shared with families on or before Friday, November 11th. Conferences will be offered in person, by phone, or via Zoom. Evening hours will be offered on November 21st.

November 23rd - November 25th School Closed for November Break

PTO Important Dates /Events

November 28th 6:30 p.m. - PTO Meeting on Zoom. The Zoom Link will be shared during the week of the 21st of November.

December 1st - Family Bingo night for elementary and middle school. This is a family night 630-800 in the activity center. This is not a drop off. If you bring a can donation you can get an extra bingo card. This is a free event.

December 22nd - PTO dress down day for $1 or bring in an article of Abby Kelley clothing.

In January the PTO is planning to lead a coin challenge at the middle school. This is a really fun challenge for students, where the classroom with the most change collected wins a prize.

Reminders:

Student Social Media

Thank you to those families who continue to monitor student social media accounts and share relevant information with the school. Students are communicating with each other on Snapchat, Instagram, TikTok etc. outside of school hours. Some social media exchanges between individual students and student groups have resulted in student frustration and tensions at school.

Enrollment Lottery 2023-2023

The Enrollment Lottery is now open for the 2023-2024 school, through February 28, 2023. Each academic year we develop a new waitlist. If you are looking to enroll a student at Abby Kelley in the 2023-2024 school year, you must enter this lottery.

To enter the lottery, or to learn more about the enrollment process visit the Admission webpage.

that the school be contacted as early as possible by the bus company to allow us to notify families.

Abby Kelley to Offer Student Device Coverage

To obtain coverage visit www.schooldevicecoverage.com and click “Sign Up.” This coverage will be available to families through November 22, 2022 for the 2022-2023 school year.

Additional information is available on the Abby Kelley website.

ID Required for Student Pick-up - In an effort to maintain student / school-wide safety, the middle school is requesting a picture ID from anyone dismissing /picking up a student from school.

Student Pick-Up/Drop-off - Please be advised that the middle school administrative team is currently reviewing the traffic patterns during student pick-up / drop-off. Once a decision is made regarding next steps to address traffic concerns we will be in touch with all families. In an effort to maintain a safe environment, we ask that all families exercise patience and adherence to all traffic laws, norms and expectations.

Bus Transportation / Communication - Thank you for your patience and understanding regarding the bus delays that we have experienced over the past several weeks. The middle school administrative team has been in touch with the bus company and we are working to address the concern around communication. At present, the school is informed of the bus delays when families call the front office to report that the bus has not arrived as scheduled. We are requesting

Middle School Athletics

PERMISSION SLIPS AVAILABLE IN THE MAIN OFFICE FOR THE FOLLOWING …

Volleyball - Last day Thursday, November 17th

Winter - Basketball

Spring - Soccer

On-going Reminders:

Nutrition

As stated in our current Wellness policy..

Our school district is committed to serving healthy meals to children, with plenty of fruits,

vegetables, whole grains, and fat-free and low-fat milk; that are moderate in sodium, low in saturated fat, and have zero grams trans fat per serving (nutrition label or manufacturer’s specification); and to meet the nutrition needs of school children within their calorie requirements. The school meal programs aim to improve the diet and health of school children, help mitigate childhood obesity, model healthy eating to support the development of lifelong healthy eating patterns and support healthy choices while accommodating cultural food preferences and special dietary needs.

We are asking that no fast food items be delivered to students during the school day. It has been noticed that families are delivering McDonalds, Dunkin Donuts, chips and soda as alternatives to the school menu. Students will not be allowed to eat outside food in the cafeteria and/or classrooms.

Student Absences

Please contact the school via phone (508-854-8400 ext.3634) and /or email your student’s homeroom teacher if your student will be late or absent for the school day. Attendance is collected each morning but it is helpful to know what students will be arriving late or absent as early as possible.

Student Transportation Change Request Reminder

Each student is provided a BUS and BUS STOP ASSIGNMENT at the beginning of the school year. The students are not allowed to ride on a different bus at any time during the school year without a bus pass given from the main office. All Students must ride the BUS they have been assigned. Any student found in violation of their bus assignment may lose their transportation privileges. If a student changes their address, a new ARRIVAL/DISMISSAL form MUST be filled out and submitted and a new bus and bus stop assignment will be assigned.

Change of dismissal must be done by 12:30 pm through the main office 508-854-8400 ext 3634. Permission to ride a different bus may not be granted based on the availability of seats. Administration will determine if this permission will be granted.

Uniform Policy

PE Uniform T-shirt- Additional T-Shirt sizes have been ordered and will be available soon! PE t-shirts are optional and should only be worn on days when your student has physical Education. Students will wear the t-shirts during PE but are expected to be in full uniform for the remainder of the day.

Light blue shirt:

• Collared polo shirt/golf shirt with long or short sleeves with or without the AKFCS logo

• Oxford style button down with long or short sleeves.

Sweater:

• V neck gray sweaters are the only sweater allowed (The sweaters must be pull-over.)

Students are not allowed to wear any other sweatshirts or vest during the school day.

Uniform Bottoms All Grades

• Color: Khaki

SHOES and SOCKS

• Comfortable/safe shoes or sneakers are required. Shoes must have a closed toe and heel; (No Crocs, sandals, flip flops, dress shoes with heels, or open toe shoes allowed). Heels should not exceed two inches (2”) from the back top of the heel to the bottom. Students should bring sneakers to change into for physical education. Students may wear boots to school on snowy days, but must change into appropriate school shoes upon arrival. A boot is defined as any footwear that covers the ankle bone.

Have a Safe and Enjoyable Weekend

Middle School Staff Directory

Email: info@akfcs.org
Website: www.afkcs.org
Location: 10 New Bond Street, Worcester, MA, USA
Phone: 508-854-8400
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AKFCPS
Twitter: @twitter_akfcs